January 12, 2017

Do You Take Drugs, Danny?

Mike and Ken have concluded their investigation and are sharing their suspicions with Gil. Smash cut to Gil’s confrontation with Aaron. I find this very interesting in as much as a public school teacher/coach would surely have to approach a meeting like this very carefully and might be required to follow some very strict guidelines. Perhaps parents would need to be present, perhaps other school personnel. Of course we know that it’s a free-for-all at Milford High and there simply isn’t time to include all the details needed for any level of verisimilitude. That would be another world entirely.

One also wonders whether Gil, armed with the circumstantial evidence from our intrepid boy detectives, might simply approach Aaron under the pretext of discussing his efforts on the court and seeming lack of conditioning. Are you getting enough sleep, son? Is there anything you’d like to talk about? In that vein. Again, that’s not Gil’s style.

All this is suddenly moot, however. Aaron is professing total innocence in the matter and he has a good reason. We have our plot now. Mom is in recovery or maybe unseen dad is a drug casualty or otherwise out of the picture due to a substance abuse problem. Aaron simply loves the night life. He likes to boogie, etc. Either that or Aaron is a good liar. We live in a post-truth world now, so why not just deny everything vociferously. Either way, details will follow. Maybe there’s something thoughtful to follow. Don’t hold your breath.

On the meta-commentary side, I used the color strip from Comics Kingdom today as the GoComics site took wasn’t available within my usual window for posting. Also, GoComics has recently updated their site and size of the default image view is different and there’s no alternate image available there anymore, so I can’t grab an image consistent with the ones I have used. I know that’s a bit OCD. Mostly, I don’t like to have to take multiple steps to produce this schlock if I don’t have to because I’m usually doing this at 5:00 am.

GoComics’ About Gil Thorp description is lazy and inaccurate, too. I submitted a comment to the site about that. Corporate overlords (or non-paid interns monitoring user feedback) need to know that Jack Berrill can’t be sent to the corn field with the Thorp children.

Related

AaAa – what a complete noob. Aaron my boy, the distance between “using drugs” and “a drug problem” can be years-long. It’s quite telling that you immediately went there in your vociferous denial. That, your shaky head and your Vertigo eyes.

Who does the landscaping for MHS? ‘Cuz that is one long-ass branch in the background. I know a lot of elm trees like to branch out in its umbrella shape, but this is ridiculous. In a hundred years, that thing will circle the building. By that time, Gil Thorp IV will have to use the alley entrance.
And boy, do we have a continuity error BIG TIME today. Yesterday we were subjected to the Mt. Everest of paperwork, an exemplar of a lesson in futility. Today, the desk displays a sampling of a few tomes of, what? War and Peace? The Brothers Karamazov? Pilgrim’s Progress? Values of the Game by Bill Bradley? I don’t recall it being THAT thick.

Puts down Shelby Foote’s volume The Blue vs. The Grey: From Shiloh To Stones River
“Aardvark, I’m told you have a drug problem. What can I do to help?”

I don’t think those are books on Gil’s desk. Though they are rather thick I think those are yearbooks from the past few years. Gil had to determine who the hell Aaron Aaguard is before he could call him into the office.

Billy, the first thing I thought upon reading this was “I’m the last person you’ll see with a drug problem! And the last person you’ll see ever! EQUUS!!

T Drew: I’m thinking of changing my longtime internet pseudonym for this site just because ours are so similar. Anyway, the branch has to be close to the window because, as Jason told us years ago pre-Whigham, that you can get crib notes for the plot just by listening to the tree and window panels. He’s the unseen narrator. As for the paperwork, my theory is that Ken and Mike woke Gil up from his siesta yesterday, and he thought “I need to look authoritative before I yell at some kid on drugs. Let’s put all these papers into a binder so it looks official.”

I understand, drewfunk. If need be, I’ll change mine for the good of the cause(as a jazz fan, I can always hide behind the beaucoup artists I’ve listened to for ages-ha). I won’t lie, I’ve been T. Drew forever but having coached for years, I understand what it means to take one for the team.
I liked your takes on my notes. Somewhere the branch is droning, while Aardvark is entering on cue, “…like sands through the hourglass, so are The Days of Our Lives”, accompanied by that somber flute solo. Now if that branch continues with “This is Macdonald Carey…”, well, ya know, we’ve been livin’ a lie.
And I agree with the possibility of Coach T. righting the paperwork ship before Our Hero arrives. The William Tell Overture was piping through the intercom while shuffling the 1040’s, player physicals, lotto tickets, etc.

And WHERE IS MARTY MOON when a scandal like this is brewing? Man, they go together like soap and water on a stain. Nobody can pick a prey cleaner than The Great Eviscerator and it looks like he’s taking an overextended Christmas vacation. Not even Marjie is snooping in to keep matters according to Hoyle. We wait another day…

I know I’ve played this card once before, but damn if it doesn’t fit perfectly. Just one Pepsi….

And she goes: What’s the matter with you?
I go: There’s nothing wrong mom
And she goes: Don’t tell me that, you’re on drugs!
And I go: No mom I’m not on drugs I’m okay, I was just thinking you know,
Why don’t you get me a Pepsi
And she goes: No you’re on drugs!
I go: Mom I’m okay, I’m just thinking
She goes: No you’re not thinking, you’re on drugs! Normal people don’t act that way!

T Drew raises a point many of us have wondered about. Where is Le Grand Provocateur, Marty Moon? He hasn’t created a problem for Gil or Mfnrd in a couple of years now. (Point of order– I have yet to confuse T Drew with drewfunk, and doubt either of you needs to change anything. Maybe your socks, but that’s it.)

Thanks for the input and advice, Vaganova. The socks angle was good. Yeah, I do try to do my laundry more frequently than Marty’s attendance(ha) although I’ll admit I’m the Original Slob(ha ha). You da man.

Teenchy, I hope you do. Personally, I find you hilarious. I LOVED your rendition of “Tell Me Something Good” on one of the plotlines(I still chuckle about it now). And being a Hooligan forever, I liked your mini-dialogue between Aardvark and Coach Thorp. It’s a shame Loonie Moonie isn’t around to trash the environs of where Aardvark cuts it loose(ha). You da man.